Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach nor any of it's characters...
You're My...
Part 1: MY EVERYTHING...
The reason why she was doing it wasn't important. The fact that she was doing it was what mattered. Inoue Orihime focused everything that she was into her Souten Kishun. Focused everything that she was to bring HIM back, no matter what.
"Inoue, what are you doing?! Why are you bringing him back?!" Kurosaki Ichigo exclaimed at his friend.
The Substitute Shinigami knew that Inoue was a very kind woman with a very big heart who would show compassion even to the worst of the worst enemies…. But seriously? He couldn't even begin to fathom why the hell Inoue was bringing back to life the one who took her away from her world and friends, and had caused her too much suffering! The act itself defied all logic! Like her powers, the act itself was rejecting how Inoue was supposed to act!
Ishida Uryuu was just as shocked as Kurosaki. However, the Quincy knew better. In fact, he seemed to understand Inoue's actions more than the Substitute Shinigami and the girl herself. Ishida was a perceptive, wise, and intellectual man. Thanks to such qualities, he was able to see through Inoue's jumble of emotions and found a hint of the reason why the orange-haired girl was reviving the Cuatro Espada.
"I- I don't know Kurosaki-kun… I don't know why I'm doing this.." Inoue replied, and then, turning her face away from her work to meet her friends' questioning gazes, added, "I just feel that I have to do it or else I'll regret not doing anything at all when I know that I have to powers to save him.."
"That's the point Inoue! I admit I don't like knowing the fact that it was my hands who brought death to him.. I don't want to be a murderer.. But still, Inoue, why would you regret letting the enemy who took you away from us and your world die?! He killed me! He would've killed you if Aizen ordered him to without any second thoughts!" Ichigo protested and would've said something more, but the look of hurt that flashed on Inoue's face shut him up.
"Gomen Kurosaki-kun….. But please, trust me on this," Orihime stated and then turned her face back to her work as tears continued to stream down from his stormy grey eyes, unable to continue being under the scrutinizing gaze of the man she oh so loved.
Before Ichigo could say something back, Ishida finally decided to speak up. The Quincy grabbed his friend's shoulder and gave him a warning look.
"Kurosaki.. Let's trust Inoue-san in this….. Let's believe in her too," Ishida spoke, adjusting his glasses with one hand.
Ichigo let out a sigh. Inoue faithfully believes in their decisions. He and the others owe her the same favor. It was time Ichigo gave Inoue the liberty to trust what she's doing, no matter how irrational it could be at that time.
Orihime couldn't understand herself too as to why she was doing this. She could care less though. She was someone who acts upon her heart's words, and resurrecting Ulquiorra Schiffer was a mandate of her heart.
Ulquiorra Schiffer… Her eyes watched intently as the ashes that was the Cuatro Espada started to take form. He was her captor. He killed Ichigo without hesitation. Nonetheless, Orihime believed Ulquiorra was different. Totally different from the Espadas, the Hollows, and of course, from her friends. And so, she firmly believed that Ulquiorra wouldn't kill her without hesitation even if Aizen ordered him to do so. Not only that, she believed that Ulquiorra deserved a second chance. The Espada was genuinely curious about the "heart" and when he said that he finally started to find her and her friends interesting, when he asked her if she was afraid as he reached out to her, Orihime knew he couldn't deny him that chance.
Pouring more and more of herself and exerting herself past the limits, Orihime reinforced her spell, "Souten Kisshun, I reject!"
Darkness…. Emptiness….
A Vasto Lorde is an amalgamation of hundreds of souls, either human or Hollow. The personality a Vasto Lorde retains comes from its dominant soul. When a Hollow dies upon the blade of a shinigami, the Hollow either ends up in Hell or in Soul Society. On the other hand, when a Hollow dies on its own…. no one really knows what happens to it.
Which is why Ulquiorra was confused. Was this how death felt like? Seemingly floating in a dark, empty space, unable to move and unable to feel? More so, how come he still had a sense of self? How come he can still think?
For what seemed like an eternity, something finally seemed to shift in the never ending pitch blackness that Ulquiorra found himself in. It seemed to be a light, and along with it was a familiar warmth. It was then that Ulquiorra realized, his eyes were open and he was blinking. After a blink or two, the light seemed to have enveloped his cage of darkness. Then, flashes of his early life as a Hollow played in front of his forest green eyes.
Not be, but be…
What is there, over there?
There is nothing.
He was born at the bottom of a pit where no light shone. As if pressed together by the darkness, uncertain of what to become, he was born under those dark, dark sediments. He had a white form.. But his comrades all in pure black…
In those black forms, with their eyes shining and eating, he realized they were certainly eating something… On the other hand, there was nothing to him except his forest green eyes. And then, those black forms eyed him. In a flash, they lunged at him as if to eat him. He killed them all, and bathed with the blood of his "comrades", he climbed out of the pit… Alone.
He felt nothing though… Rather, what he thought he felt was "void." He could hear nothing. He could bite nothing. He could smell nothing. He could feel nothing as he touched. He could not rest. He had no companion… He just walked, alone and empty.
As he walked on and on, he arrived to a conclusion. The things that reflected in his eyes have no meaning. The things that could not be reflected in his eyes did not exist.
And he continued walking, walking, walking, walking… And he found something extraordinary. IT was, somewhat, the place of birth to those strange, translucent objects that dotted the world he was in. It was the first time that his eyes were captured.
With no color, no sound, no scent and no interaction with anything, he thought it was the thing that he laid his eyes on that was closest to the "void" that was himself. Thus, he sank his body into that great "void." There was nothing there…. He lost his line of vision. He felt himself dissolve in to the void. And as he felt as if everything had disappeared, one word crossed his mind…
Happiness….
Orihime's heart hammered louder and louder inside her chest. She was succeeding! For once, she was succeeding in doing something she wanted with her powers! A familiar yet strange warmth started to bubble inside of her chest as she gazed into the already formed and distinguishable face and body of Ulquiorra Schiffer in his Resurreccion: Segunda Etapa.
"She's almost there…." Ishida murmured, amazed at what Inoue could do. He already found Inoue's healing powers to be amazing.. Rejecting death? No words could purely describe how great such a power was. "A power that defies the God" would be an understatement!
The Cuatro Espada was nearly complete; all that was lacking was some chunks of his wings. The Quincy and the Substitute Shinigami on top of Las Noches Dome could sense that Inoue was already tiring out. Her reiatsu was already low. However, they were aware that all they could do was watch their friend finish her work. Already, Ichigo was readying himself for a fight against Ulquiorra.
'Almost there!' Orihime thought. Her reiatsu was near depletion and her body was wearing out. Her vision was starting to get blurry. But despite those, Orihime steeled herself and held on.
"Souten Kisshun.. I reject!" Orihime cried out, pulling out whatever reiatsu was left in her.
Finally, Ulquiorra Schiffer was whole and looked good as though he wasn't from battle at all as he was kneeling on the ground with his eyes closed. The golden-orange barrier of Orihime's Shun Shun Rikka disappeared, and Ulquiorra's body fell forward towards Orihime, who caught him and embraced him tight, dispelling her tiredness. Orihime noticed then that Ulquiorra was still. Too still that he didn't seem to be breathing.
Orihime felt more tears well up in her eyes. Were her efforts of bringing the Espada back not enough? Was all that she spent a while ago for nothing? Tightening her arms around her captor, Orihime whispered to his ear, "Wake up… Please Ulquiorra.. Open your eyes.. Say something.. Please…"
Once the scenes from his past life before being an Espada was done flashing in front of him, Ulquiorra was once again lapsed in darkness. He welcomed it this time though. Reliving his past cemented Ulquiorra back to his nihilistic beliefs.
He was nothing. He has failed his purpose of existence to Aizen-sama by dying against Kurosaki Ichigo. This world of darkness he found himself in was meaningless, if not merely an extension of the "void" that was himself.
'That's right….' Ulquiorra mused 'I am content with my own emptiness…. I am nothing… and I am perfectly satisfied with that….'
Ulquiorra was about to close his eyes and revel in his emptiness when a blinding light once again occupied the space he was in. This time, images of a certain human filled his entire vision. He saw himself in the park he and Yammy first appeared in.
He was on a mission given to him by Aizen-sama. A mission to see how far Kurosaki Ichigo has gone in terms of power. It was supposed to be a solo mission, but Yammy insisted on coming with him. He didn't complain, not that he even cared. So, he just watched as Yammy did a Gonzui, consuming all nearby human souls. Then, when there was a survivor, he didn't try to stop Yammy as the Tenth Espada moved to kill the human. And when a human with powers appeared and blocked Yammy's attack, he didn't find the need to do anything.
"Ulquiorra, is he it?" Yammy asked him, referring to whether the newcomer was the object of their mission.
"Yammy, if you had invested some time to train your observational and reasoning skills… It would be obvious to you that he is trash too," he replied, hands in the pockets of his hakama.
"Ok then!" Yammy declared and attacked the "trash".
"Sado-kun!" a female voice cried out as Yammy defeated the "trash." He saw human girl with long orange hair, grey eyes, and a considerably high reiatsu compared to that of normal humans ran to the scene.
"Ulquiorra, is this girl trash too?" Yammy questioned him once again.
He gave the girl a blank stare, closed his eyes and answered, "Yeah… Trash."
"Oh yeah!" he heard Yammy say, perhaps as he moved to kill the female "trash."
"Santen Kisshun.." he heard the voice of the female "trash" mumble. After which, the sound of what seemed to be glass cracking and crashing down the ground filled his ears. He opened his eyes to see what happened.
The female "trash" was bathed with a golden-orange light as she stood up against Yammy.
"What's the deal with this one?" Yammy murmured.
"Souten Kisshun…" the female "trash" spoke and then, a golden-orange barrier took form on the injured arm of the male "trash" earlier.
"What?! She can heal? Come to think of it, this guy is still alive?! He's pretty durable!" Yammy bellowed.
Heal? No.. He noticed as he observed the powers of the female "trash." It wasn't healing. It looked more like time reversal or spatial renewal. Whichever it was, it wasn't just a simple healing ability. He has never seen such a technique before... It seemed the female "trash" wasn't actually "trash."
"What a strange human.. this Onna…" he thought to himself.
'Indeed… Inoue Orihime was just trash at first..' Ulquiorra mulled as he watched his first meeting with the Onna unfurl 'However… That onna was truly a strange human…'
More scenes with the Onna greeted his eyes. That time when he has threatened her to come with him to keep her friends safe… That time when he taunted her and she merely looked at him with determined gray eyes…. That time when he commented how the Arrancar uniform suited her perfectly…. That time when he fell asleep in her calming presence….. That time when he berated her friends and she slapped her in response….Up to that last moment when he reached out to her and asked her if he was afraid of him…..
"I'm not scared…" That was her answer when she reached back…
Ulquiorra's eyelids suddenly felt heavy and closed on their own, allowing the veil of darkness to come over him and the Onna's last words echoing in his head over and over like a much-loved song. Ulquiorra could admit it. Humans were just trash. But the Onna and her friends was an interesting bunch… The Onna herself was different above anyone else… She refuted his beliefs and explained her own to him, trying to make him see the world through her point of view… She tried to explain to him this "heart" that he was so curious of… And at that moment when she reached back… Ulquiorra saw it. Her heart was right in his hands….. At that moment too, Ulquiorra realized that the Onna chased away the emptiness that filled his inside and filled it with a foreign yet oddly welcomed warmth that he knew was what humans called "happiness"…..
The light against his eyes receded, and once again, Ulquiorra was alone. That was until he heard it. Her voice calling out to him….
"Wake up… Please Ulquiorra.. Open your eyes.. Say something.. Please…"
Responding to her voice without thinking, Ulquiorra slowly opened his eyes and called back, "…Onna…."
"Onna…." she heard his deep, silky voice whisper into her ear. Orihime's heart skipped a beat.
"Ulquiorra!" Orihime chimed happily in response and made a move to tighten her hug around the Cuatro Espada. Ulquiorra, however, seemed to had other plans.
When Ulquiorra opened his eyes, he was shocked to see the surroundings of the top of Las Noches Dome. Wasn't he supposed to be in pitch black darkness? The Onna's voice ringing happily and quite loudly beside his ears snapped Ulquiorra out of his thoughts and made him notice that more importantly, the Onna was hugging him. Instinctively, the Espada pulled away from the human contact.
"What have you done Onna?" asked Ulquiorra as his gaze locked with Orihime's, and the first thing he noticed was the tears that flowed uninterrupted down her porcelain cheeks.
"I- I actually don't know what I did Ulquiorra… Just that when I saw you disintegrate to ash like that, I didn't want you to just die like that just when you seem to have realized what a 'heart' was.. And so I thought of reviving you because I believed that you deserved a second chance since you were the one who stopped Kurosaki-kun from killing Ishida-" Orihime's nervous rambling was cut off by Ulquiorra looking intensely at her eyes.
"Onna, why are you crying?" question the Espada.
Orihime's eyes widened and then she touched her cheeks, feeling the wet trail of her tears as though just realizing that they were there.
"Ah.. This..It was just.. Well… When I revived you, you seemed so still.. I thought I wasn't able to revive you and that my efforts were useless.. So the tears just came you know…. But now that you're alive.. I'm just so happy that the tears won't stop you see.." Orihime rambled in response, a hand placed on top of her head. She would've ramble more and more if only Ulquiorra's words didn't render her speechless.
"You shouldn't have brought me back to life Onna," Ulquiorra stated, distancing himself away from her, "I am your enemy. I am the Cuatro Espada, Aizen-sama's loyal servant. I threatened to kill your friends. I have killed Kurosaki Ichigo twice and I would have killed you once Aizen-sama ordered me to. Reviving me was a grave mistake on your part."
"I told you Inoue, reviving him wasn't a good idea," Ichigo, who was just watching from the sidelines, finally broke his silence, "Of course he's Aizen's most loyal servant! He'd always side with that despising man and he's going to fight against us the moment you revive him back!" Ichigo then proceeded to point Zangetsu at the Cuatro Espada, ready to strike anytime.
At the sound of the Substitute Shinigami's voice, Ulquiorra stood up to his full height and looked emotionlessly at the Shinigami, remembering that there were other people present on top of the Las Noches Dome.
Orihime believed differently though, and she stood up and took her place in between the Shinigami and the Espada, hands outstretched on either side as if protecting her captor.
"Kurosaki-kun… Ulquiorra could've killed you earlier when you were about to fire a cero at Ishida-kun.. but he didn't…" Orihime defended," Which is why I believe Ulquiorra won't attack us!"
Both the Substitue Shinigami's and the Cuatro Espada's eyes widened at the orange-haired girl's words.. The two men couldn't deny the truth in her words, and thus Ichigo grudgingly put down his fighting stance. Ishida, who was staying silent in the background, smirked. Ulquiorra could only look at the Onna with an indifferent face on.
Sensing her somewhat "victory", Orihime turned to look softly at the Espada.
"So…. Ulquiorra, what are you going to do now?" asked Orihime.
The Cuatro Espada locked his emerald eyes with Orihime's gray ones and answered, "I don't know….. I am of no worth to Aizen-sama now, having been defeated by Kurosaki Ichigo… The best I should do would be to reject what you have rejected…."
At his words, Orihime's eyes widened in alarm and instinctively, the woman grabbed hold of the Cuatro Espada's hands.
"Don't!" Orihime cried out.
"Why?" questioned Ulquiorra, "Why do you care, Onna? Why have you brought me back?"
Orihime's heart panged as Ulquiorra's piercing green eyes bore into her orbs as if trying to see past through her soul. Why did she care? Even she doesn't know. As Ulquiorra continued to gaze at her intently, Orihime's heart pounded more and more against her chest as if trying to tell her the answer to his question.
"Well, Onna?" the Cuatro Espada tilted his head to the side, not willing to wait any longer.
"I—I care because… I brought you back because…. " Orihime's voice caught in her throat. Why did she care? Why did she bring him back?
"You should hate me, onna. I took you away from your world. I threatened to kill your friends. I DID kill one of your friends and injured some. Yet, why did you bring me back to life?" continued Ulquiorra, this time, gripping Orihime's hands tightly.
Orihime gulped. Her heart was dictating her the answer. It was right there on the tip of her tongue, but she can't seem to say it.
Tired of waiting, Ulquiorra let go of Orihime and turned around, stretching his wings and readying himself to take off.
"I don't need your pity Onna. I am nothing, and I should be nothing to you," stated Ulquiorra, his monotone voice containing a semblance of hurt.
And then it hit Orihime. The answer she was looking for. Ulquiorra was her captor.. But it was he who kept her safe inside Las Noches! His words were what strengthened her, no matter how cruel they were! His presence was what grounded her to sanity and gave her comfort! But most of all, it was his presence in Las Noches that Orihime could entertain the idea of having a happy life in Hueco Mundo and that Ulquiorra has paved his way inside her heart and made a home there.
And so, Ulquiorra.. meaning nothing to her? That was unthinkable! Unforgivable! Impossible! After all.. Ulquiorra was.. Ulquiorra was…
Orihime found herself flinging herself unto Ulquiorra's back and wrapping herself from behind him, clinging to him as if he was her lifeline.
"You aren't nothing to me Ulquiorra!" exclaimed Orihime, tears bursting out of her eyes.
Ulquiorra stiffened at her embrace, but seemed to resign after a while. He turned his head to gaze at her from behind him. If he wasn't nothing to her, then what did he mean to her? More than anything else, Ulquiorra wanted to be something to the Onna. He was nothing to Aizen-sama now, and he had no purpose to live.. But he could feel it.. He felt that the Onna's answer to what he meant to her would either give him a new reason to live… or all the more reason to die.
"Then.. what am I to you Onna?" asked Ulquiorra, his voice still in its usual monotone but a bit shaky and unsure.
At the sound of Ulquiorra's uncertain voice, Orihime realized that what she would say next would either make or break the situation.. Make or break Ulquiorra… She released Ulquiorra and went to stand in front of him. She looked up to his eyes and saw the anxiety and sadness there. She saw in his forest green eyes that look that said he was trying to look for a reason of continuing on living.
At that realization, Orihime's eyes softened and she cupped the Cuatro Espada's face.
"You aren't nothing to me Ulquiorra…. How can you be nothing to me? You mean everything to me.. You became my everything when I lost what I had the moment I came to this world… And now, you say you're nothing… Can I ask to be your everything?"
Ichigo and Ulquiorra's eyes widened at this. Ichigo couldn't believe his ears. What did Inoue just say?! Was she even thinking right?! Ichigo almost dropped his Zangetsy due to pure surprise. The sincerity, calmness and honesty in Inoue's voice said otherwise.
On the other hand, Ulquiorra was certainly caught off guard. Him? Her everything? Indeed, the Onna was a strange human. The Cuatro Espada felt an upward tug on his lips as he pondered on her last words..
"Can I ask to be your everything?"
Ulquiorra cupped the Onna's face with his own hands too and moved forward to see more of her eyes. He saw in those grey orbs sincerity, determination, strength, and other emotions that Ulquiorra couldn't possibly name. What really caught his attention, though, was the care in her eyes. Her care for him.
The Cuatro Espada let out an inaudible sigh and gave in to that upward tug on his lips. He allowed a small smile grace his features for the first time in the centuries that he has lived and watched in amusement as the Onna's cheeks turned a beautiful rosy color and her eyes widen with his smile.
"Ulquiorra-.. You- You're…" the Onna stammered, clearly dumbstruck.
Ulquiorra traced her lips with his right thumb and asked, "Onna, do you want me to answer your question or not?"
Immediately, the Onna's cheeks turned into a deeper shade of red and she was silenced. Looking at her red face, Ulquiorra made a mental note to himself that he liked making her face that way. But more importantly, gazing at the Onna, he knew what his answer to her question was.
Ulquiorra had nothing. He was nothing. The world meant nothing.. Until the Onna came to his life and changed one big fact… The Cuatro Espada couldn't deny that fact anymore.
"Onna….I was nothing. The world meant nothing… And I was perfectly content with my own emptiness… Yet you have destroyed me…." Ulquiorra spoke softly, caressing the Onna's cheeks with one thumb while the other hand wove its way through her orange tresses," You have destroyed me…. And made yourself my everything from the moment you tried to teach me what a heart was…. You already ARE my everything Onna.. There is no need for you to ask such a question."
Ulquiorra and Orihime gazed softly and contentedly in each other's eyes, that warm, unnameable feeling filling their insides. Acting upon her heart, Orihime moved forward to Ulquiorra, tilting her face. Ulquiorra, acting upon his instinct, leaned in too.
"I'm glad.." Orihime whispered.
And after those words, the gap between the captor'sand his captive's lips was gone. To be honest, the Ulquiorra Schiffer and Inoue Orihime didn't actually understand how they truly feel for each other yet. Their gentle, chaste kiss was just on instinct, for the Espada's part and on the mandate of the heart, for the Onna's part. And as they pulled away, looking into each other's eyes, they decided they were already satisfied with what they know.
Inoue Orihime is Ulquiorra Schiffer's everything.
Ulquiorra Schiffer is Inoue Orihime's everything.
"You're my everything," Ulquiorra and Orihime told each other before once again letting their lips embrace each other, completely oblivious to the open-jawed Substitute Shinigami and the red-faced Quincy that was also there on the top of Las Noches Dome and was witnessing their moment.
A/N: Well, that's it for now! Hope you enjoyed :D Please do tell me what you think with this story through the reviews :)) Criticisms, comments, ideas: they'll be welcomed with open arms ^_^ They give me the motivation to right too :DD Originally, I thought of this being just a one-shot.. But then again, I had this idea of creating "You're my..." as a series of connected one-shots instead... I've got the other one-shots planned out following "My Everything.." But I have to type them still... since my time is wholly constricted with school XD I'll try to update as soon as I can... as long as my passion for this story won't die out! XDD I have that problem when writing stories you see.. XDDD Anyways, thanks for reading! :D
