Author's note: there was a lot of demand for me to write another Ulquihime story, at first I didn't think I could do it since if I focused on the relationship developing again it would turn into a carbon copy of my first story, and if I decided to do a post-development story it'd be excessively lovey and reek of some strange Disney sequel. Well, one of the reviews of my first story gave me a shot of inspiration! Rather than focus on the characters as my first story did, this one be more about the surrounding plot and how it affects the characters (yup! No more being lazy for me.) Also, I wanted to extend my focus and try my hand at portraying a larger portion of Bleach's cast. This story is the result. Please read and review (so I can tell whether I'm on to something or not.) Also, if you aren't familiar with my first story: "That perches in the Soul" please find and read it when you have the time. If you're a fan of romance I feel I can safely say it'll be worth a look. here's the link: (just add fanfiction dot net to the front of it.) /s/4154575/1/thatperchesinthesoul

Chapter 1:

The Espada who remain

Grimmjow rediscovered

We regard Ulquiorra

"Kurosaki sure beat the hell out of you, huh?" An arrogant voice was carried through what Ulquiorra thought for certain to be darkness. He felt pained and disoriented, his eyes unfocused and his mind uncertain whether he was standing, sitting, or laying. He remained silent while the clouds lifted from his eyes, his gaze finally focusing on the still-blurred outline of Grimmjow Jeagurjaques

"Grimmjow…" His voice sounded so far away that he couldn't be certain it was his own. The blue-haired Arrancar was standing over him, a jeer of confident malice on his face. Ulquiorra finally regained enough of his bearings to realize that he was laying on his back in the desert sand. The dull sun of Hueco Mundo shined above the two men in its somber way, and the majority of Aizen's throne room lay in a wreath of rubble all around them.

"You know, just the sight of you has always pissed me off. I've hated that smug and analytical crap you spouted for just about as long as I've known you. When I saw you laying on the ground in a pool of blood it made me so happy I could cry." He followed these taunts with his unmistakable laugh, a sadistic cackle that expressed an almost childlike pleasure. Ulquiorra merely looked up at him. Grimmjow's presence confirming what he'd suspected to be the case. His lord, Aizen, had met with defeat. Ichigo's determination proved capable of defying even the cold and unflinching judgement of logic and reason, and now Orihime was…

"Lord Aizen." Ulquiorra said monotonously, angry despite himself at how weak and listless the sound of his voice was.



"…Is dead." A female voice finished his thought for him. Halibel, emerging from behind the pillar of sand where before she was resting, looked down at Ulquiorra with emotionless eyes. "You've fallen, Ulquiorra."

"As have you." He responded in kind. Her spirit pressure was so low it could almost be mistaken for human, and he knew she had also very narrowly escaped death. Halibel's appearance made Ulquiorra more curious about his surroundings. He forced himself into a sitting position, not minding the pain that greeted this exertion. Within the circle of ruins about them he identified Grimmjow and Halibel. In the corner, almost one-hundred feet away, he identified a slumbering mass that was almost certainly stark. The four of them were the only living creatures in the area.

"You lost 'cuz you're weak. That's all there is to it." Grimmjow cut in again. "I lost 'cuz I was weak, but now I'm strong. Stronger than the kid, and a whole hell of a lot stronger than any of you." It was irritating, but it seemed to be true. There was no trace of a wound on Grimmjow's body, and his eyes burned with a vitality they had never possessed before.

"Grimmjow, how did you-" Halibel began, but Ulquiorra clarified her question before she could finish.

"I see. You devoured Nnoitora." He truly wasn't interested, his thoughts at the moment centering around a certain red-haired girl. Grimmjow applauded Ulquiorra's assessment, laughing again.

"Caught it already, huh? I'm not surprised. Anyway, I have better things to do than gloat right now. I'll kill all three of you eventually, but you're low priorities and I don't need the handicap of finishing you off when you're half dead. " He shrugged. "I saved your lives, now return the favor by recovering so I can kill you one day. That's all I wanted to say." He turned to leave, but then suddenly seemed to remember something.

"Oh, and Ulquiorra?" He turned his head toward the prostrate arrancar.

"What?"

"You were killed by Ichigo Kurosaki, you know?" Ulquiorra didn't know, but didn't find it surprising either. His memories of the final clashes, of his released zanpaku-to clashing with Zangetsu, and of the demonic creature that seemed to emerge when Ichigo was on the brink of death were blurred and combined into an amalgam that he couldn't even begin to process.

"Is that so?" His voice was as cold as his gaze.

"His sword cut you into hamburger. It was that woman who saved you." He laughed. "I've never seen so many tears in my entire life. I just thought you might like to know about it, since you're so hot for her and all." His patronizing grin grew wider as he departed.

"So I find myself indebted to you once again, Orihime Inoue. I understand." He stood slowly.

"What will you do now?" Halibel asked, only moderately curious.



"With Lord Aizen dead, there is no longer any objective for me to pledge myself to."

"Do you plan on going to the human world?" Her voice showed the slightest trace of disapproval.

"If I am?"

"A foolish and idiotic sentiment, completely unlike you. Hollows, humans, and shinigami. Since antiquity time has pushed us into a never ending waltz. Humans are preyed upon by Hollows. Shingami hunt Hollows. Hollows kill Shinigami and are killed in kind. It is unbecoming to try to defy what you are."

"Ohhh, so that's what you think he's doing?" To both of their surprise, it was Stark who offered this groggy reply. The back of his hand lay over his eyes, and he didn't move much as he spoke. It was difficult to tell whether he was truly awake or not.

"We ain't hollows, though." He continued. "Suppose that we were? Bah, even an eternal life is too short to play by the rules all the time. It's better to spend your time on more noble pursuits. Sleeping, for instance, or sharing a drink with your 'enemy'." This last statement was a reference to the glass of sake he had enjoyed with Shunsui in the middle of Aizen's climactic battle. Stark was unique among the Espada in that he was never decisively beaten during the battle. He withdrew from the fighting as soon as it became apparent that his side could no longer win (never the sort to waste energy on unnecessary fighting.)

"I have no interest in such things." Ulquiorra said as he raised his hand, summoning a dimensional gate as only he and Aizen could. "I will continue as I always have."

"I guess I shouldn't waste my time being the only sensible one here. Very well, I will do the same. " Halibel answered, watching her former comrade become swallowed by the borders of his wormhole. She cast a long gaze back at Stark. "Staying here, then?"

"For a time, sure. When you get as old as I am you realize how pointless it is to move about too often, dear. Besides, this is where I told Lili to meet me." He returned to his sleep as his final companion departed.

Hueco Mundo had always been a world of chaos and primitive instincts. Over the course of several patient months, however, a bizarre form of controlled uniformity had began to take shape. Sosuke Aizen had arrived and for a time the entire world seemed animated toward a common purpose. However, that man and he alone was the cause of this. With his death and his army's defeat that delicate order crumbled with greater ease than his his ruined throne. All bonds were abandoned, and Aizen's Espada separated into the depths of chaos.