Hello! Yet another Ulquihime story along with other pairings. I think I have issues.

This is a bit of a spoiler… sorta. At the end of Chapter 500 in the manga, someone saves Urahara and all we get to see is the sword of whoever it was that saved him. This story takes place after that and who I believe was holding the sword (though I'm pretty sure the other person… well, I'll say at the end of the chapter). I hope you enjoy!

READ A/N FOR POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT! (sorry, had to add that because I tend to skip A/N's myself… bad Nikki)

Oh yea and, I do not own Bleach or any of these characters. (Do we really have to say that?)

Chapter 1

"Oh no," said a startled Urahara as a cool steal blade was pressed against his cheek.

A haughty laugh escaped the mouth of the sword wielder, the blade pressing more firmly against Urahara's skin creating a thin stream of blood to spill over the metals surface.

"Look what we have here," said the man who had just sliced the jailer from shoulder to hip.

Urahara blinked but didn't move when he heard a startled half scream, half cry behind him.

"Princess… long time no see."

"Ulquiorra…" Orihime breathed, ignoring the comment from the blue haired Espada and looking past him to the green eyed figure which stood unmoving with his hands shoved deeply in his pockets.

"Aw, that hurts princess," said Grimmjow while removing his sword from Urahara's cheek.

"Thank you," said Urahara as he got to his feet. He turned around to see if Chad and Orihime were alright and was startled to see Orihime staring at something behind him with a glassy look.

Orihime's mind was racing with thoughts as she stared at Ulquiorra. It didn't make sense. She had seen him die before her very eyes. She had seen him disintegrate into nothing. How could he be standing here? She shook her head to try to stop the barrage of memories that threatened to drown her.

For nearly two years she had lived through the nightmares, the constant shadow over her thoughts. As hard as she tried, she couldn't erase the memory; the despair in his eyes when he'd reached out for her. She'd replayed that moment countless times over the past year, each time ending the same and ripping a small piece of herself in the process. She didn't know why the memory caused her so much pain. He had been her enemy. He'd been the cause of so much pain in her life. She'd reasoned that she just hated seeing anyone suffer, friend or foe but looking at him now, his eyes staring back at her like the past 20 months had never occurred, made her reassess her assumption.

Orihime gulped as a lump formed in her throat.

He was staring at her, just as she was at him. Their eyes never wavered.

"I knew I felt that orange haired brat's reiatsu. Where is he?" Grimmjow asked, his thickly muscled arms folded over his chest. He no longer wore the white uniform he'd worn while under Aizen. Instead he was wearing a royal blue vest, completely unbuttoned, revealing the trademark scar across his chest and torso. The pants were the same though, the white fabric and black belt hanging low on his hips.

"He's on his way to Soul Society. What are you guys doing here?" Urahara asked, walking towards the Quincy body lying bloody and broken on the ground.

"I'm never one to pass up a fight," Grimmjow answered.

Behind him, Ulquiorra still stood motionless, his gaze fixated on the woman. He'd never thought he'd see her again. She'd changed in the time they'd been apart. Her hair was longer and she no longer clipped it back with her pins. He even noticed the subtle changes in her body, her legs slightly longer and her curves more pronounced. He didn't know how many nights he'd stayed up, thinking about their last moments together. His hand would reach out to the darkness of its own accord and inevitably come back with nothing. The memories of her would haunt him like nothing else.

"Why are YOU guys here?" questioned Grimmjow.

"Nel needed our help," answered Urahara hiding his true intent.

"Che-, idiots."

"We need to get back to the living world. I fear we were lead here on purpose and now I need to analyze this medallion," said Urahara as he walked back to Chad and Orihime.

"But Ichigo…" Orihime said, snapping out of her fixation. "I need to go to Soul Society."

"You're right Orihime… they will need your help too," Urahara said while gathering a few things off the corpses body.

Orihime was a little taken aback at Urahara's answer. Usually he would tell her to stay back because she wasn't strong enough.

"I will go with Inoue," inserted Chad.

"That won't be a good idea. You will be of little help there right now," said Urahara.

"I'm not going to let her go alone!" Chad hollered.

"She will not be alone," a voice said from behind Urahara.

The group turned as one to look at Grimmjow.

"Hmm… that might not be a bad idea," pondered Urahara as he looked at the pair standing nearby. "Yes, that will work. But please, meet me back at my shop after you are done there. I think we can all agree that right now we don't need more enemies so I will relay to you all the information I can if you will do the same for me."

"Fuck no…" answered Grimmjow but was interrupted by Ulquiorra.

"Yes, I agree. We already know that the Quincies are too much for us to fight alone Grimmjow."

Grimmjow grunted in acknowledgment to Ulquiorra's statement but didn't disagree.

"Alright then, that's settled."


Orihime clutched her throat as a scream threatened to escape. Her eyes took in the sight in front of her, moving over the ruined buildings and fallen towers. All around her was endless death and destruction. Agonizing cries came from every direction and Orihime quickly searched for several reiatsu's. The most blaring was Ichigo's, coming from somewhere in the center of the city. Grimmjow apparently must have recognized it as well since he immediately took off in that direction. She searched out Rukia's and Rangiku's reiatsu… faint but still strong. Then Toshiro, Renji, Byakuya…

Without a second thought, Orihime started sprinting across the rubble, tripping over a protruding rock and slicing her knee open. She didn't bother to stop but jumped back to her feet and continued to run, turning down pathway after pathway and jumping over fallen beams. She finally entered a small clearing and found Renji leaning over a slumped figure and rushed over. Byakuya laid there, his eyes closed and chest barely moving with his breaths.

Immediately Orihime placed her healing shield over him, the yellow glow lighting up his haggard features. Renji turned mournful eyes to Orihime as she squatted next to him. 'This can't be happening,' she thought as she watched Byakuya's unchanging wounds. She couldn't help but look at the destruction around her. What could have possibly caused all of this? She almost jumped when Ulquiorra's slender form entered her field of vision.

She didn't have time to think about it anymore when an agonized cry pierced the air near them.

"Nii-sama!"

Orihime watched as Rukia flew across the clearing and landed beside her brother, her hand fisting against his chest as she knelt beside him. Her eyes were wide and shining with unshed tears and Renji moved around to the other of Byakuya's body to kneel beside her, curling an arm around her thin and shaking shoulders.

Byakuya's eyes fluttered open, searching out the pair beside him. His mouth opened but before he was able to utter a word, the breath inside him whooshed out and his head sagged to the side.

"Nii-sama! Nii-sama!" cried Rukia, her hands clutching desperately to his robes. By her side, Renji's eyes were lined in red and his fists were clenched at his sides. When Rukia started pounding on Byakuya's chest, her sobs making her choke, Renji grabbed her shoulders and pulled her against him, pressing her face into his chest and holding her tight.

No words were said between the two as they mourned and Orihime stared at the scene in shocked silence. She relinquished her shield from Byakuya's form and stood, her eyes staring at nothing in the distance. The pain and suffering around her was incredible. It was unbelievable that so much destruction could have happened here… in Soul Society of all places.

She shook her head to snap out of it, knowing that other people needed her help. With one last glance at her friends who were holding each other, Orihime made her way to the next needy person. She spent the rest of that afternoon healing as many people as possible, her shield expanding to a point she never knew it could reach. Every ounce of energy was seeping out of her but she kept it up, knowing that just a few minutes could mean life or death to someone.

Ulquiorra watched the woman as she went from injury to injury, healing every person that she could. He could see her shoulders sagging more and more each minute but she continued on. Even when a lieutenant from the fourth division came over to her and asked her to get some rest Orihime did not stop. He remembered when he'd watched her heal both of the men that had accompanied her from the spirit world to the living world back when he'd informed her of her surrender to Aizen. He'd been slightly amazed by her ability but what she was doing now made that act pale in comparison. Her healing shield now encompassed five to six people at a time and the wounds she was able to heal were incredibly grave.

He wasn't sure why he'd decided to follow the woman once they had entered Soul Society. He'd watched Grimmjow dart off the moment they had entered but he didn't have the same desire to search out Ichigo so he'd waited and watched what was happening around him. The look that had passed over Orihime's face when she'd felt her friends fading reiatsu had captured his attention and the next thing he knew, he was following her, receiving curious glances wherever he went from the shinigami but no hostility. It seemed people were more interested in the new threat, the Quincies, who must have retreated not more than a few moments before their arrival to Soul Society.


"What the…" gasped Ichigo as the light blue haired Espada dropped down in front of him. His eyes opened wide at the sight and he clutched his broken sword tighter in his hand.

"Ichigo," said Grimmjow. "Miss me?"

"What are you doing here?" Ichigo asked, his large brown eyes scanning the area for others.

"Isn't it obvious? Saving your ass," Grimmjow replied.

"But…" started Ichigo before he was interrupted.

"Looks like we're too late though. This place looks worse than Hueco Mundo. I knew you Shinigami were a bunch of pussies."

Ichigo narrowed his eyes and asked, "Who else is here?"

"Ulquiorra is somewhere around here. Probably following the Princess around," Grimmjow answered.

"Ulquiorra is here?" Ichigo said incredulously. "But he was… I thought he… died."

"Yea well, who the fuck cares. I need to know who these fuckers are who took over Las Noches and practically destroyed Soul Society."

Ichigo sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He hadn't had a moment to think about the enormity of the situation and all the things that had been said to him but it all came crashing down on him now. The last words from Byakuya rang through his head. 'I'm counting on you, Kurosaki Ichigo.' It was impossible to believe that he was dead but he'd felt his reiatsu fading and then soon disappearing.

Then of course, there were the words from Juhabach, the leader of the Vandenreich. What had he meant? What did his mother have to do with any of this? He'd never asked his father about the past, feeling that he would tell him when he was ready but now, things were different.

"Hey Ichigo! You gonna answer me?" asked Grimmjow who stood only a few feet away from Ichigo now, his sword sheathed at his hip.

Ichigo blinked out of his thoughts and looked at Grimmjow. The fact that he was standing in front of him, talking to him like they weren't enemies was surprisingly on the bottom of the list of weird things that had happened today. "I barely know anything myself. I know they are Quincies and I know that they came for revenge from a war that happened years and years ago. Beyond that, I really don't know."

Grimmjow crossed his arms over his chest and stood in silence for a moment, seeming to contemplate what Ichigo had just said.

"That weird hat wearing man told us to come back to his shop when we were done up here," said Grimmjow.

"Knowing Urahara he probably knows way more than anyone else. I need to find some people first though."


Orihime had just finished healing another group of people when she turned and saw Ulquiorra standing behind her. He was simply standing there, watching her as she moved from person to person and Orihime had been aware of him the entire time. She had been curious at first about why he was following her but her curiosity soon vanished, replaced with a determination to help every person she was capably of helping. Now though, as she turned and looked at him, she felt the last bit of energy inside of her seep out and she collapsed, passing out before noticing the strong arms that caught her before she hit the ground.

Ulquiorra looked at the woman in his arms, her dark lashes fanned against her perfect skin. He'd seen her knees give out beneath her and had quickly jumped forward to catch her. At that moment, Ichigo and Grimmjow walked into the courtyard, each of them looking startled by the sight of Ulquiorra holding Orihime.

"Inoue! What did you do to her?" screamed Ichigo as he ran towards them.

A hand shot out and stopped him before he got to Ulquiorra. "It's ok. Orihime just passed out. She's fine."

Ichigo looked into Renji's sorrow filled eyes and immediately felt something inside him break. He would kill every last one of those monsters who had caused all this pain and death.

"Let's go," said another voice from behind, a large tanned hand lying on his shoulder.

"Where are you going?" Renji asked, pain clearly reflected in his reddish brown eyes.

"We have to get back to Urahara," answered Ichigo.

Renji let his eyes fall to the ground and it seemed like all the air in his body escaped as he slumped forward. Ichigo put a hand on Renji's shoulder, waiting for the taller man to lift his head and look into his eyes before saying, "I'll be back soon, I promise."

His words seemed to bolster a bit of energy in the red head and Renji straightened his shoulders and looked at his friend. "Thanks Ichigo."


The small group made their way to Urahara's shop, Orihime still cradled in Ulquiorra's arms. They laid her down as soon as they got to the shop and went to find Urahara who was somewhere in the back, drinking a cup of tea as he perused a bunch of charts and graphs laid out on the table.

"Welcome back," Urahara said before taking another sip of the steaming liquid. "Quite the threesome. I'm glad you didn't kill each other before getting here."

The three men grunted and Urahara offered them each a seat around the circular table. They all sat down and poured themselves some of the hot refreshment.

"Tell me quickly what I need to know. I have to find my dad," said Ichigo, a look of impatience crossing over his face.

"It's always so nice to hear when a son needs his father," said a deep voice from the doorway.

The group all turned at once to see Isshin standing there, his muscular frame taking up a good portion of the doorway.

"Dad?" Ichigo said with wide eyes.

"Isshin… so good of you to join us. Please, take a seat," Urahara said and motioned to one of the remaining empty cushions. When Isshin took a few steps inside, another figure appeared in the doorway of smaller proportion, his glasses reflecting the light from the window.

"And Ryuken, what a pleasure," added Urahara. "Any more surprises?"

"Only one," answered another familiar voice.

"Uryu!" Ichigo said, his surprise clearly written all over his face.

"Don't forget me!" chimed in a higher pitched voice. Orihime came walking in behind Uryu, dark circles under her eyes but shoulders rigid with determination.

"This is quite the group we have here," said Urahara as the new members took a seat.

"Yes well, this involves everyone so I figured we should get this done at once," said Isshin while he poured himself a cup of tea.

"Get what done?" Ichigo asked.

"I need to tell you a story. The story of how your mother and I met," answered Isshin., his eyes going distant as memories overtook his thoughts.

The group waited, eyes glued to the dark haired man.

"It was 18 years ago…"

To be continued… (in another story. See A/N)

Ok so now I can finish what I was saying in the beginning of the A/N. I don't really think Ulquiorra is standing with Grimmjow in that scene in the beginning. It's just a fantasy on my part. Of course at this point we don't even know if that's Grimmjow but I think most people believe it is.

The 'to be continued' will be done as a separate story until that tale is completed. It's called "The Beginning" I will post the first chapter of that soon. I hope this isn't too confusing for people. Just send a review or a PM if you have any questions.

I hope you enjoyed!