FULL SUMMARY: Ulquiorra dies but regenerates. Five years pass since the Winter War and he enters the World of the Living not sure whether he's seeking revenge against Orihime or Ichigo. Urahara offers him a temporary solution, one that he most likely will not be happy with either. As he navigates the human world, his once simple life becomes complicated with people and emotions. In the end, he has a choice to make.
THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION IN AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE. I, EspadaIV, do not own Bleach nor the characters I've used. They belong to their respective owners. Please feel free to comment or leave a review, rec (fic, manga, anime, music, movie, book, plot bunny). I reply to comments! Also, let's talk about anything! Kudos are awesome too. Thank you for reading! For more of my stories, check me out on Ao3 EspadaIV. There's an awesome Ulquihime fic called Love Letters To A Song up there that I'm writing with the wonderful JKRobertson.
He floats.
He's still aware. He's awake. He knows he died. He's dead. Still, he's alive. It's going to take a long time, but he's going to come back. He's going to regenerate. He's going to get his closure with Kurosaki because that's what he wants. It was his duty to protect Los Noches, but he failed.
He wasn't protecting Los Noches. If he wanted to defend the citadel, he would have let the boy have the girl. A lot of damage had been done to the place with their battle. Yammy was known to have not a care in the world when it came to destroying things. The Espada hadn't protected Los Noches at all. He was trying to keep that redhead from the substitute Shinigami. He was trying to save his own heart from being ripped away. He was intrigued by the girl.
He doesn't know how much time has passed, but when he opens his eyes, he can see the dark sky again. Maybe that's not the sky; perhaps those are those monsters from the first time he came to awareness.
Ulquiorra looks around and just sees darkness.
The next time he comes to he sees a crescent moon. The sky. That pale hand was reaching out to him. Memories flood him.
Woman.
Inoue.
Orihime.
The human who slapped the Gods in their faces and didn't care that her actions had consequences. She healed people and things without thinking. Grimmjow. Ichigo Kurosaki.
Her hand slipped through the ash that his outstretched fingers. He just wanted to feel her skin once. Ever since the day she stood up to Yammy, he'd been curious. He wanted to know. He wanted to see. Ulquiorra had been through her dwelling, looking through her things and pictures. He had poked around in her bathroom and cupboards.
She was an odd one.
What would have happened if her hand had touched his? What would have happened if he had felt that touch a couple of seconds earlier? Would it have mattered?
There was another part of his brain that was telling him to push his emotions aside; to forget about her. She essentially murdered him! Had she just let that orange-haired brat die like it was intended, he would still be alive. He would have her to himself! They'd be together in Hueco Mundo.
She wouldn't let it go.
She would not listen to him.
She summoned the creature that killed him.
How could he feel anything but hatred towards her? How could he feel anything but resentment?
Easily. He could brush it off as the lack of emotions. It would be false, but it would be an excuse.
He had kidnapped her; traumatized her; threatened her. Through her, he found what a heart was and knew that he had a connection to her. Yes, it was forced and could be construed as false, but there was that bond.
How much time had passed? His thoughts were coming in stronger waves now. His skin felt clammy. His hair plastered to his face and was annoying him. He brushed it off his forehead. His eyes took in the sight before him.
There was no black claw.
There was no white claw.
China white skin with black fingernails.
Gingerly, he felt his head, fingers threading through ebony black locks of hair. They felt the hard ridge of the bone fragment; his breathing hitched because it was a sensitive part of his body. He never let anyone touch it. Touching an Arrancar's mask fragment was akin to touching their penis or nipples.
Touching an Arrancar's mask could mean death.
His fingers trailed down his face to his throat. Between his collar bones lay his hollow hole. It was smaller than he remembered. Come to think of it; his mask fragment seemed to be chipped in weird places. It covered most of his head instead of half of it.
What did this mean?
Would his number still be emblazoned on his chest?
Ulquiorra lifted his head to see that, yes, his Espada number was still burned into his skin. His eyes stared at the rest of his body. He wore no shirt or jacket but still had his hakama on his lower body. Strange.
Could he stand?
How long had it been?
So, he tries and is successful. That's all that mattered. He could get himself out of that black pit. He could find his way back to Los Noches—Wait a minute. He feels a fleeting spike of familiar reiatsu. His Sonido is not quick enough for him as he flies along the desert floor, raising up a cloud of sand and dust as he speeds his way towards the source.
She's here.
But why? Why is she in Hueco Mundo?
He stands along a plateau of black rock and looks down upon some ruins. She's there. There's a golden-orange glow in front of her and—
When he comes to again, the ruins are silent. There's no sign of Orihime Inoue. The last thing he remembered was a blast of white light. An explosion perhaps? What knocked him out that time? What made him lose himself that time?
He doesn't bother to try and pinpoint his location. Ulquiorra doesn't bother to try and find Los Noches. If she's not here then where is she? He rips open a Garganta. The sound of the portal opening is welcoming music to his eardrums. Stepping through, he goes to the World of the Living. He's not sure what he's looking for, but he knows she could be there.
Why does he want to see her though? She had betrayed him. She had betrayed Lord Aizen!
Lord Aizen.
The man—no, the Shinigami who made the Espada. Ulquiorra had a sinking suspicion that Lord Aizen wasn't something to worry about anymore.
Had he won, wouldn't the Espada be living in the Soul King's realm? Aizen had promised them power. He had promised them a better world. One where Hollows would be accepted. One where Soul Reapers would pay for their crimes.
Ulquiorra felt like a fool as the Garganta opened and he could see a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. This is what he wanted, right? He could just close the rip and go back to Hueco Mundo. He could find Los Noches and see what the damage was. He could find his crystal tree and sink back into the depths again. No one would bother him there.
Hueco Mundo didn't have Orihime Inoue. Hueco Mundo didn't have Ichigo Kurosaki.
He stepped out of the gateway, hovering above the above a park. It was the same park it still had a crater in the middle of a clearing. He used his Pesquisa to locate the various reiatsu signatures around the town of Karakura. There were seven strong ones in the vicinity of him. There were familiar ones.
What the hell was Sexta Espada and former Third Espada doing in the World of the Living? Grimmjow and Nelliel? He could sense Orihime. He would deal with her and her friend later. Right now, he had more pressing questions to attend to.