"It took until I died, but finally I have the power to save you, my love." Delicate, pale-pink hands reached out, palms facing away from her body. Her clothes blew in the wind of her reiatsu, and her auburn hair whipped around in front of her face. Between her hands a soft golden glow illuminated her face in the darkened room. She whispered, "Soten Kesshun. I reject."
The glow expanded to flood the entire area. Broken rocks from previous occupants cast long shadows like watching shades of deities summoned to witness this most illegal of rituals. Within the golden bubble a small fragment of white bone rested. The power of the fairies sparkled around it and she held her breath to keep her hands from shaking.
Next to her, the sealed form of her Zanpakutou rumbled quietly, lending its strength in both mind and will. The hilt was wrapped in blue, the cross-guard the shape of her old barrettes. In Shikai, the blade became a set of black shuriken with red flowers engraved on both sides of the six-pointed blades. When still sealed, the blade was fairly dull, but always aided her kido. Stumbling upon her Fullbring powers again after graduating from the Shino Academy had been a surprise, and months of practicing had brought her to this point.
"I kept you with me. Held you close to my heart all these long years. I knew someday I would have the power to bring you back to me, my love. It won't be long now." She whispered into the contrasting room.
The shape of bone was growing, gathering fragments from nothing, flecks of darkness appearing and flying into a single form. It had doubled, twisting slightly as it grew. Her hands shook with anticipation, and her breathing hitched once before she closed her eyes and centered herself. Slowly, so slowly, the mask was beginning to form, curving out and down, ridges wrapping around it.
Suddenly, at the other end of the dome, black flecks flew together and the tips of rounded boots grew from nothing. Toes became feet, and the bottoms of pure white hakama woven themselves from the hem up out of the air. Her breath caught again as the legs of her beloved grew, firm in muscle tone, but slender. A fat tear rolled down her cheek when the pale flecks of nothing became hands with blackened nails, then wrists, and arms, covered in a matching white jacket.
Ebony hair grew out of the mask now, both ends rushing to meet each other as the process grew more complicated. Now that the outer shell was almost complete the insides were drawn into being. Creating flesh from reishi was nothing compared to starting a heart that had stopped beating decades ago. Slowly but surely the chest of her beloved began to rise and fall.
She almost moved her hands to squeal with joy. It had been so long—so long! No one knew she'd gathered a sliver of his mask and carried it with her next to her heart every single day from that fateful November until now. She never married, never showed interest in any other subject. She spent her life training her Fullbring, obsessed with obtaining the power that her mentor was certain would be at her fingertips. Decades of wasted Human life, only to obtain what she'd been seeking upon her death.
She laughed, a psychotic edge coloring her voice, as tears streamed down her cheeks. The last of the black particles gathered to finish his face, noble curve of nose, strong angle of chin, delicate lashes of the darkest ebony. Under those porcelain lids rested the most expressive emerald eyes she'd ever seen. She longed to draw her fingers across the pale and darkened lips, to taste the flavor of his mouth, and inhale the scent that would purely be him.
There was no surprise when she became a Shinigami, nor when she gained a seated position in the Fourth. She was still their bubbly airhead, going on and on about random things, and creating deadly dishes that her beloved had adored. The others laughed her off, believing her to be the same daydreaming soul she'd always been, with the lightest heart even in the darkest of places. Little did they know. She had no heart. It had died that day atop the tallest tower in that darkest place. But now she was bringing it back.
She closed her eyes, beginning to grow weary. How much longer? His body was complete, pristine and perfect, just the way she remembered it every night in her dreams. His internal organs were working, and his mind had begun to repair itself. Ah, that was the problem. His own regeneration was beginning to argue with hers now that his organs were complete. His one weakness, and the cause of his death. Well, he had her now to compensate for that weakness. If this—no, when this worked, she would stand beside him as she was meant to, and would fight beside him.
The inside of the gold a second bubble of green flashed briefly as his reiatsu began to grow, flaring out like a young flame. It grew and grew and grew, pressing outward against her dome. She brought her own reiatsu in to match it, strengthening the shield. Instead of playing counter-measure to it, she wove the two together, creating harmony where only dissonance had reigned.
Soon, so very, very soon, he would be complete and his eyes would open, and she would never be alone ever again. Her tears of joy were gone now and concentration captured her features as they entered the home stretch. Her hands were burning, the energy flowing through them searing her palms as much as pouring into the target of her beloved. That's it. A little more. Keep pushing through the pain. Her brow furrowed, sweating, and she poured more into healing him. The light faltered as her eyelids drooped. No! Not yet. Close, so close! Can't fail now!
The shadows around her grew wider and wider as her bubble's glow began to fade. She leaned forward, as though that would keep her hands up in front of her heart. She sank forward and forward until the bubble disappeared completely, bathing the room in darkness, and she rested her cheek between her hands on his shoulder. Around her tortured palms a line of gold light highlighted the digits and curves of his shoulder. Her eyes drifted closed and the glow faded to a final heart-shaped light more akin to a candle than the raging wildfire from the beginning. Tears rolled down her face for a different reason as sleep clutched at the tatters of her exhausted psyche.
The light burned through his jacket, driving into his pale flesh faster and more harshly than his regeneration could keep up. Over the pale, chiseled plane of his left pectoral the gentle line of an upside down heart was scared into his flesh as the woman slept, still pouring energy into him.
She whimpered, dreams of the day he disintegrated playing and replaying through her mind. Twitching, she struck his tender neck with her elbow. His eyes flew open and he inhaled sharply. Emerald glow illuminated the room around him as his gaze shifted from corner to corner, searching for answers. More darkness, but this was different That darkness had been empty. This darkness was full of things, reiatsu and souls. His hunger flared briefly, but it was squashed as soon as it began.
He didn't know how long it had been since that day, but the weight on his chest told him the woman had used her strange power on him. He frowned slightly. Was the War over? Did he need to resume hiding the way this odd Human girl made him feel? He could barely sense individuals, but he immediately could tell this was not Hueco Mundo.
"Woman." He called softly.
She jolted awake, and sat bolt upright. "Ah! You're awake!" She gasped, her eyes going wide. "You're alive! I did it! I really did it!" She tackled him again, pressing herself to him in a squeal characteristic of her old self.
He rolled them over, and looked down into her eyes, which streamed with tears. He blinked. Catching one on his finger, he stared at it. Faint light was beginning to spread across the sky to the east, which meant the fake sky of the room was lightening too. His gaze shifted to her face, and he drew his thumb over her cheek, wiping the salty wetness away.
No real emotion showed on his face. His mouth never quirked His eyebrows never shifted. His jawline never clenched. But his eyes—those endless pools of viridian eternity—sparkled. Curiosity, concern, interest, and finally the special sparkle that she knew only she could cause. She lifted her hands to his neck and threaded her fingers into his hair. Giving a small tug brought his mouth millimeters from hers. He would not know what to do, but she tilted her head and captured the mouth she'd been dying to taste for more years than she'd like to count.
"I love you, Ulquiorra…" She whispered, holding him close.
He blinked at her again, but held her in return, sensing that it was what she wanted. When she pulled back to rest against the ground, his head tilted. She was dressed as she had been in Hueco Mundo. Her white jacket with the mutton leg sleeves over the white strapless corset, and white hakama. Taken by the curiosity of the situation, he watched as a hand he was no longer intimately attached to unfastened the zipper of her jacket and drew it down to just below her breasts. A star-shaped scar adorned her breast bone. The story was hers to tell, but one thing bothered him.
"Why?" He intoned, staring into her eyes.
"Because at that time you reached for me, like a hero reaching for a guiding star. You chased away the shadows of my fear. You were the moon for me when I was locked in that place, constantly shining behind the clouds of despair I felt. When I had nightmares you appeared and brought me back, shattering the dream. It seemed no matter where you were in the compound you were never further from me than my heart. You freed me from the prison that person created around me, and took me into battle with you." She drew her hand down the side of his face, cupping his cheek, tracing the green line. He was silent, staring into her eyes, and she continued. "I will give everything I am to keep you with me. I couldn't grasp your hand before, but now, I won't let go." To demonstrate she brought her hand down to his and wove their fingers together. They both looked down at their kissing palms. Then they locked eyes again and she said, "You are not alone."
Inspired by: : / / fav . me / d307pgd