Ulquihime

Blackness. I'm floating about in a sea of darkness. Then, a tingling sensation near my right eye and I open it to see the night sky of hueco mundo. Oh yes, I remember now, I'm on the roof of los noches. Out of the corner of my eye I see that black haired, glasses wearing boy. The quincy one. I then realise my other eye is still shut and open it to see that woman, Orihime, fill my vision. Her face is filled with worry that changes to surprise as she sees me looking up at hands were out in front of her, slightly confusing me until I realise she's doing the soten kishun. On me? Casting my eyes downward I saw a mass off muscle and bone forming where my chest should be. There wa another tingling sensation near my left shoulder and I watch in horrified fascination as a bone grew, muscle adding itself to it. it kept doing that right down to my finger tips with pale skin forming on my shoulder. The tingling that was there was being replaced by pain as the skin knitted itself together. I tried to ignore it but as yellow dots flashed in my eyes it got too much. I tries to gasp with not yet formed lungs as my vision blurred and went black.

I awoke, snapping my eyelids open. Lying down, I couldn't quit get up. Or move. I sighed through gritted teeth and looked around. There was Orihime sitting down crying. The quincy boy stood at her shoulder. I looked at them for a while pondering on what she might be crying at. Then I decided that I was being ignored. Normally that is perfectly acceptable but there was a loud incessant noise. "hello" I mouthed no words coming out. Why was that? I tried again. And again. Finally, 5 trys later I croaked "hello" I barely heard the words myself but Orihime gasped and looked up at me.

"y…you're alive…" she stared at me, mouth open for a while, until she she sort of laughed , the type of laugh where something is not funny at all and yu laugh to stop your self from breaking down into tears. A smile then pulled at the corners of her mouth and she laughed again louder and more real this time.

"what are you laughing at, Woman?" I asked , there was nothing funny about the situation. But apparently, as the quincy boy smiled slightly and Orihime exploded into giggles on the floor, there was something funny.

I really don't understand humans. Or their emotions.

At that instant there a crash sounded from below followed by a maniacal laugh. I sighed, was everyone in a good mood today? Except me, who was feeling utterly confused.

"Woman." I said, to get her attention. "Help me up. Now" she came over and put her arm under my neck, heaving me into a sitting position from their she turned to stare at my throat mouthing words that I could not hear. She slowly reached out hr hand and using her finger traced a circle. The feeling of her hand on my bare skin choked me. What was she doing? I put my hand over hers moving it away. then traced the same circle, realising it was where my hollow hole was. Was? My hollow hole was gone. WHY?! Shocked I put my hand to my head. Yes, my mask was still there. WHY?! Flashes of light passed through my head. Memories of death. Of my death. Of the thoughts I had. Of finding my heart. I sighed again, shut my eyes and gathered the will to stop sitting in the peace and stop that infernal racket downstairs.

"you, quincy boy" I held out my hand "get me up." he gripped my hand tightly and looked into my eyes. If he wanted to unnerve me, it wouldn't work.

"my name is Uryu Ishida, I may be the last quincy, but that gives you no right to call me quincy boy. Or order me around."

"sorry. Uryu." Standing now, I half leaned on Uryu and hobbled over to the hole. Looking down I saw orihimes friends scattered around like toys and yami fighting 2 shinigami, captains by the feel of their reitsu. There was also 2 more shinigami watching. I felt uryu freeze beside me at te sight of his friends.

"I suppose I should stop him." I muttered, my hand going towards my zanpukuto.

"But there are some captains down there, surely they can handle it." was Orihime scared for me? The shinigami couldn't kill yami, they didn't know his weak spot.

"no. I have do." I looked down the hole once more, calculating where to land And jumped. As I fell through the air I twisted to see Orihime step forwards to jump after me. Then I hit the floor, landing lightly on my feet.

"Ulquiorra? I thought you were…?" he trailed off as he realised I obviously wasn't dead. "I don't need any backup, Ulquiorra, I'm doing fine on my own." He growled, the shinigai turned their swords on me about to attack, I was smaller then yami, therefore weaker so they shpuld get rid of me first. How wrong they are.

"I'm not here to assist you yami." I turned to the shinigami watching me warily. " I'm here to…" why was I here? To just kill yami? To do what? I pondered for barely a moment and realised it was to save Orihime and her friends. I was about to explain that to the shinigami but thought that actions here would speak a lot louder than my words. And they would be more believable. I drew mercialago and walked towards Yami.

"hey!? Where you goin' Ulquioraa?! the enemys that way" he pointed to the shinigami whom I was walking away from. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!!" he shouted when he realised I wasn't going to turn back.

"I'm doing what I always do. Killing trash." I jumped, slashing at Yami then moving to avoid the blood spurting from his shoulder. I then cut right along his hip and jumped a onto his arm, running along. He shook it trying to get me off but finally realising that wouldn't work smashed his massive fist into me pushing me off his arm with the force of a heard of elephants running into me. I landed on my feet skidding for a few meters.

"what the hell did you do that for, attacking me like that?! Have you gone crazy?!" Yami screamed at the top of his voice.

"shut up. Trash" I said nonchalantly firing a cero at his arm, blasting it right off.

"hmph. If you like killing trash so much than you wouldn't mind getting rid off this one." He pointed downwards smiling cruelly. I looked down at where he was pointing expecting a shinigami but at the sight of a girl crouched over an unconscious shinigami. A girl with light brown hair and a white arrancar uniform. The only arrancar uniform nt worn by an arrancar except lord aizens, gins and tosens.

Orihime. He wanted me to kill Orihime.

"if you can't, I will" he curled his hand, the one right above her pointing at her, into a fist. Why wasn't she getting out the way, running?! I stared and saw that look of intense concentration she only wore when healing someone. Yami raised his hand a little snapping me back to reality. I shivered. To make it in time would be hell. But I did anyway. Sonido was fast, but was it fast enough to save her?

I raised my hand at the incoming fist "…cero…." I whispered hoping this would work.

A flash of light. Things falling around me. Screaming. Smoke. As the smoke cleared I saw Yammi looking at what used to be an arm. The he saw me in front of Orihime.

"don't you dare do that again." My voice was monotone yet my heart ached with all the emotion inside it. most of which I'd never felt before, like fear. But not fear for me or my life. Fear that I might not have made it in time, in case the cero didn't work, in case something, anything, happened to Orihime.

I ran at him holding zanpakuto behind me. I jumped slashing anything in my way, making my way to his head. Then at last stood atop his skull. With Yami shouting at me at the top of his lungs. He would try to stop me, swat me out the way, but on the way up I had cut off whatever appendages he had left.

"farewell, my friend" because , whatever he has done, he was still the only friend I had in hueco mundo. "cero" I pointed my hand down towards his head. A flash of light and the doom blast went down his body stopping only when I knew his entire body was pierced.

And the he fell.

The captains just stood their, gormless and confused as 2 espada battled and the stronger one fell. I walked to Orihime now healing the big Mexican one.

"are you alright Woman?" she looked up at me as her friend started to regain consciousness.

"yes…are you?" I nodded. Although I was feeling peculiar, there was an insatiable urge to do something. As I puzzled over this I saw she was crying and realised all I wanted to do was to stop that. Not because it was an irritatig annoyance, but because it was physically hurting me.

"stop crying woman, that doesn't help anything." She looked at me with big tear filled eyes. "thank you for saving me. I don't know what I'd have done if you hadn't.

"you'd have died." I stated simply. "isn't that obvious?" by this point in her life I expected her to know that much. She stood up and came towards me. "you know what I mean." She wrapped her arms around me. Did I know what she meant? No, not at all.

"thank you, for saving me, Orihime.." I told her, did resurrecting count as saving? Well in her world probably. I looked down at her face again, she was crying again. "what wrong now?" I asked her the panic clear in my voice.

She hiccupped and looked at me. "silly, these are tears of happiness." She saw a brief frown of confusion flicker across my face. "you called me Orihime, not Woman." I didn't understand why something like that made her happy this much but for some reason I liked it. but then the tears were sad again I don't know how I knew I just did. "Ichigo…wouldn't like this.." she whispered. "like what?" she sniffed and looked in to my eyes. "how much I think I love you." I used my thumb to wipe awy the tears.

"who cares what Ichigo likes. All that matters is us. As long as I have you and you have me we're fine. If Kurosake complains I'll kill him like the trash he is."

"really?" she whispered barely audible. I looked at her and nodded once, a slight tilt of my head.

Then I did something I'd seen humans do in their world, something I'd never thought I'd do.

I kissed her.