Somehow, she knows things cannot end in this way. It is wrong, wrong, wrong. It is probable that all Inoue Orihime feels in that moment is denial, but it is more probable that it is something more. Perhaps divine voices are pouring such things in her mind that she is so compelled to believe.

I will see you after this, Ulquiorra Schiffer, she thinks, this cannot be our final farewell.

Why else would she be feeling such a strong feeling of hope and desire of seeing his face after this. A sudden thought crosses her mind, but she feels so numb and so enveloped in the events outside her mind and body that it doesn't startle her. Maybe she welcomes it and embraces it?

Does this mean I will die as well? Then I will see Ulquiorra-san in…

She doesn't finish the sentence drifting in her mind, preoccupied by a more important question presented by the man before her.

"Are you afraid?" he asks her.

It is not a challenge, like many other times she's heard him utter the question. This time, when she speaks she is completely truthful. Though she has never really been afraid she has felt doubt and hesitance. She had been lying to herself, in some small insignificant way. This time she is sure. She is not losing him. She is only losing a part of him, maybe. Somehow, as she looks into those beautiful green eyes, she knows he is even less afraid than she.

"I am not afraid," she murmurs.

Her arm is outstretched, reaching out for him. His hand has slowly risen as well. There is little distance enough that if she steps forward, which she does, she may grasp his thin fingered, pale hand. There is so little time left. She tries to grasp him, thinking maybe that is all that is needed to save him. She is only vaguely aware of Kurosaki's presence, questioning and depicting her every movement in silence. She is even less aware of Ishida's, lying injured on the ground, but still conscious, still registering these events in his mind.

Her hand crosses that final distance and she hooks her finger. Her hand passes through air and ash, and her eyes widen only slightly, her heart thumps loudly and then abruptly stops. Suddenly he is gone. Her heart starts again, beating so violently and rapidly in her chest it chokes her. When his whole body turns to ash and disappears into the wind, she pulls her hand back and places it in the center of her chest, mirroring the hole she'd seen in his chest. The pain is unbearable, but she smiles in anticipation, her back turned to her almost saviors. She finds that she can't wait to see that tear streaked face again. Even if only in her dreams.

Until we meet again, woman.


A/N: Yeah, I ship this dead pairing. Still. T_T

I miss Ulquiorra-chan. D: