Here is Chapter 3 as promised. I'll post the next chapter when time allows. Thank you to everyone who read and followed this story. I appreciate every last show of support. It motivates me to write more than you might imagine. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions about the story. Enjoy
.
.
Kisuke had led the group which composed of two humans and three arrancar down into the basement of the shoten, where he had a large portal device set up. He explained that because he and Mayuri had agreed to construct the portals on either side of the realms to prevent the detectors from picking up the presence of Hollow reiatsu stepping through a senkaimon, or worse yet alert the seireitei by having one of the Arrancar open up a garganta. At Tatsuki and Orihime's insistence Kisuke had allowed Tatsuki to text her mother and provide her with an excuse for why she wouldn't be coming home this weekend. The girl had barely gotten to finish sending her message before Kisuke had all but shoved her through the portal along with the rest of the group she was with. The portal was strange, Orihime had noted; totally different from the senkaimon or Garganta or even the dangai which she was used to travelling in. Once they'd passed through the portal they entered a sort of slip-space stasis while the world around them seemed to move in a collage of intermingling color.
Kisuke had explained that because this method of travel was different from the ones that were typically used to enter Soul Society, it would take them far longer than usual to reach their destination. Given that they had a great deal of time on their hands along the way Kisuke and Orihime used that time to fill Tatsuki in on the events of the last few years. To say the girl was shocked would've been a complete understatement. She had known a few things about what had happened involving the Winter War, but the latest events floored her in no small way. Despite their openness with filling her in on the events that had occurred over the last few years they had completely clammed up when she'd inquired about how all of this connected to her. It worried Tatsuki quite significantly that they wouldn't fill her in, but she knew there was nothing that she could do about it for now.
As they'd reached the end of their travel they were expelled rather abruptly from the portal and out into an open room. Losing her balance during the process, Tatsuki grabbed tightly onto the person nearest her hands in order to steady herself. In her desperate attempt to maintain her balance she hadn't noticed that the person she had grabbed on to was none other than the object of her ire, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. She looked up to see him staring down at her, his features not indicating much, but his eyes appraising her with a kind of scrutiny which made her uncomfortable. She quickly released him and composed herself, avoiding eye contact with the blue haired man, instead focusing on her new surroundings. They were in a large white room that was relatively sparse. The only things in the room were a control panel, and a few cupboards covered with lab instruments that ran the perimeter of the room. By the control panel was the unmistakeable Kurotsuchi Mayuri who appeared heavily occupied by whatever was on the screen he was looking at.
"You never cease to prove your worthlessness as an accomplice Urahara. Not only is your punctuality grossly lacking, but you managed to break the clause of our agreement by bringing an unauthorized person into my lab" Mayuri said without ever looking back at the newest occupants.
"There is no need for concern Mayuri; Arisawa-san here is one of the people I was telling you about. But I'm sure you could sense that already" Urahara explained.
"From the moment she stepped in it was rather noticeable" Mayuri replied flippantly with a wave of his hand. "If you're finished with stating the obvious then let us begin. Nemu will be here shortly when she has finished her task in the adjacent room.
Urahara nodded affirmatively. "Right then, Inoue-san you brought that box with you today right?" he looked expectantly at the girl.
"Ah, yes I have it right here" she said, retrieving a small black box from her bag.
"Excellent. Now, in a moment Kurotsuchi-san will raise a large tank up from the ground. I need you to place the contents of that box into the tank. Once that is done then I'll tell you what to do next." Kisuke instructed.
True to Kisuke's words, Mayuri raised a large containment tank up from the ground. There was a ladder that ran along the side of the capsule that Orihime used to allow her to reach the top of the tank. She turned the hatch wheel on the top of the tank and lifted it up to allow her to place the contents of the box into it. It was at that moment that the full weight of what she was about to pull off hit her. Her knees felt weak and her palms were sweaty but she forced herself to reign in her emotions. If she wasn't careful she might destroy her last chance at making things right. Looking down at the box in her hand she squeezed it firmly, trying to keep her mind on the memory that was driving her as opposed to the stakes at hand. She opened the box to reveal an eyeball with a distinctively green iris. It hadn't changed at all since the time he'd given it to her, as strange a gesture as it was. What she had initially thought was a strange gift idea had turned out to be something she would be forever thankful for. If this worked out (and she prayed and hoped it would), she would have to give him her thanks again for his very thoughtful present. Inhaling deeply she picked the eyeball out of the box, and very carefully placed it into the now liquid filled containment tank. She closed the tank and tightened the hatch wheel before climbing down the ladder to rejoin Urahara who was now beside Kurotsuchi as opposed to with Tatsuki and the arrancar on the other side of the room.
"What do you need me to do next?" she asked the scientists as she approached them.
Kisuke was the one to answer her query. "Kurotsuchi-san is going to turn on the power switch that is connected to the generator below the tank. When he does this, focus your powers on the eyeball, with the aim to restore Ulquiorra's body and consciousness. You must be absolutely focused on Ulquiorra and things pertaining to him –good or bad – through this process. Replay a memory if necessary."
She nodded, and obediently went to stand in front of the tank. After a moment the tank was enveloped by the roar of energy that was being emitted from the generator and Orihime took that point as her cue to activate her shun shun rikka. The orange shield enveloped the tank as Orihime closed her eyes in concentration, her focus entirely on one of the fonder memories she had of the fourth Espada.
.
.
She jumped when she had heard the door open even though she already knew who had entered the room. She felt his reiatsu approaching long before he reached her quarters, but he still managed to surprise her anyway. She wasn't so much surprised at the fact that he had entered her quarters as much as she was jolted by the presence of his spiritual essence, as she always was when they were in close proximity. There was something innately hair-raising about his reiatsu, even when he was being non-threatening to her. There was an empty, void quality to it, even though she knew his spiritual pressure was quantitatively vast and overwhelming. One could liken his reiatsu to a big empty vase: it took up large amounts of space, but it was devoid of substance, character. Without flowers, water, rocks, or shells and the like, the vase was quite purposeless; a waste of space. Whenever she felt the vast hollow timbre of his reiatsu, a small part of her that wasn't alarmed by its bareness wished to help him fill the void in his soul that had shamelessly bled itself into his reiatsu. But one look at the pale skinned Arrancar would always cause the more logical part of her to remind her that such a thing was not possible. He was too forbidding, too unwilling to allow another to change him so intimately. Besides, he was an enemy wasn't he?
"Onna" he said as he walked up to stand beside her at the window.
"Hmm?"
"Why do you insist on staring out the window if you know the view will never change?"
"You already know the answer to that Ulquiorra" she didn't look at him as she spoke. She didn't need to. His expression never changed, whether he was giving her an implicit compliment or he was criticizing her for being weak or delusional. Always the same face, always the same empty, blank expression. It was a shame though; big, bold, beautiful eyes like his deserved to be used for more than just staring people (Orihime for the most part) into submission or striking fear into the hearts of others.
"Your motives are as pointless as ever, but I have not come here to criticize you at this time." He was looking intently at her, and he knew she could feel the heat of his gaze.
Ripping her eyes away from the desert scenery she turned to look at the Cuatro Espada. "What did you come for then?"
"To give you this" he retrieved a small black box from his pocket and placed it in her hands.
"A gift? Arigatou Ulquiorra-san" she beamed at him, her smile genuine.
"How can you thank me if you have not opened it? You have yet to determine its use"
"Because it's a gift, and that's what you do when people give you gifts." She explained.
"Your reasoning is illogical. Open it"
She giggled at his remark but did as he said anyway. When she saw what was in the contents of the box she let out a shocked gasp.
"Your eye…"
"You do not appreciate it?" he queried, voice as emotionless as ever.
"No no no it's not that! I love your eyes – not in the creepy way – but I mean I-I… I just don't understand. Don't you need your eye? And how did you grow one back?"
"You are aware of the abilities of my eyes, are you not?"
"Ah, no not really"
"So long as my vital organs are intact I am able to regenerate removed parts of my body at will and with relative ease. The purpose of this 'gift' is to serve as a tracking device as well as a warning system for your protection. Should Nnoitra or any other Arrancar attempt to invade your personal quarters with the intent to tamper with your person, you are to break my eye immediately. The crushing of my eye will create a blast of energy that will immediately summon me to your side so that I might appropriately deal with your assailants." He explained to her matter-of-factly.
Her eyes softened as she understood the purpose of the gift. It was pragmatic as was expected of someone like Ulquiorra, but it was his little way of telling her that he cared about her well-being even if he wouldn't admit it verbally. "Arigatou Ulquiorra, this was very sweet of you"
"You needn't thank me Onna. I am simply taking practical measures to prevent you from being the target of assault while in Aizen-sama's palace."
"I still very much appreciate your gift." she said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder.
He didn't move in response to her touch, but she knew it must've discomfited him to some extent. "I will return shortly to ensure that you have finished your meal" was all he said before leaving.
.
.
"I envy because of the heart.
I glutton because of the heart.
I covet because of the heart.
I am prideful because of the heart.
I sloth because of the heart.
I rage because of the heart.
Because of the heart,
I lust for everything about you."
.
.
.
As Orihime kept her eyes closed and focused on her task the others in the room looked on in awe. The force of her reiatsu had caused Ulquiorra's eyeball to burst and the glass-like shards of the organ swirled around in the tank. Just as they look as though they were about to settle to the bottom of the containment capsule the shards suddenly began to take on an unmistakeably green glow. The shards began to swirl rapidly as the glow became stronger and from the fragments in the containment capsule, by some miracle a body had begun to form within the container.
"Holy shit she's really bringing that bastard back!" Grimmjow marvelled, a genuine grin adorning his feral features
"Shh! You'll break her concentration" Nel hushed him
"Who is she bringing back?" Tatsuki asked in a hushed voice
"Our ally and the former Cuatro Espada, Ulquiorra Cifer" Tier answered her.
Tatsuki nodded in amazement as she watched her friend conjure up a man from what was relative to nothingness. As the body began to take form, Tatsuki was able to tell that the man seemed to be tall, quite pale, and slender yet muscular. As Orihime's power's continued to work on forming the man she noticed distinctive characteristics started to become apparent on the man's body. A '4' tattoo began to appear on the left side of his chest, and a hole in the centre of his chest right below his throat. 'A hollow hole' she noted. From the dust shoulder length black hair and a set of facial markings erupted into existence. Each detail of the man was reanimated with a steady precision that no doubt was taking a toll on Orihime. The blonde girl was shaking and sweating drops were sprinkled on her forehead as she worked painstakingly to complete her objective. After a few minutes had passed it was evident that his whole physical form was complete, and all that remained was for Orihime to continue restoring the man's conscience.
.
Orihime was beyond exhausted; this task had proven far more daunting than all of the others she'd taken on thus far, shy her stabilizing the realms. Even Ggio – who she had revived from nothing but DNA samples retrieved from Szayel's lab –had proven much less difficult to revive than the Cuatro espada. For the life of her, she couldn't understand why that would be. His strength perhaps? No that couldn't be it. She'd revived Kyoraku Shunsui and he was far stronger than the Cuatro Espada. What then, could cause him to be such a difficult case?
She could feel that she had reformed his physical body, but she still hadn't successfully returned his consciousness. She really should have rested more and eaten better over the last two weeks; her power levels were much weaker than normal, no doubt from the over-exertion she had put herself under. Restoring the equilibrium of all existence and reviving multiple Taichou-class Arrancar wasn't exactly good for one's energy levels. But despite her exhaustion, Orihime pressed on with all of her might, focusing in all her senses on trying to bring the Cuatro Espada back to life. She could feel that she was almost there but she just needed a little push to bring Ulquiorra all the way back. Reaching deep within herself to find the necessary strength she channelled all of the energy she could muster into her energy shield. Having used every last drop of energy that she could muster shy of tapping into her own life-force Orihime finally caved, falling to her knees in exhaustion. She was gasping deeply for air as she tried to catch her breath. She rose up to look at the containment tank and her heart fell as she saw that Ulquiorra –while whole – seemed to be completely lifeless inside the containment tank. This was nothing like when she had resurrected the others. As soon as she had finished reforming their physical bodies and imbuing them with her energy, they had immediately awoken, only to be knocked out by Nemu's tranquilizer.
"I…I couldn't do it" she said, her words barely above a whisper.
The cold, numbing sensations of failure and fatigue had begun to pool in the pit of her stomach. Failure. Complete and utter failure. His physical body was there but his consciousness, his awareness, was nowhere to be found. Of all the Espada she had attempted to revive, he was the one she most wanted to see living and breathing once more. She was almost positive in her spirit that he had wanted life more than all of them at the moment of his death. His life was taken all because of her, just as he was beginning to find the purpose that he had yearned for. She had failed him in life, and now even in death she was still just as incompetent. The overwhelming emotions of guilt, frustration, failure and exhaustion enveloped Orihime, and despite herself she couldn't stop the hot tears from streaming down her face and the hiccupped bawl that wracked her diaphragm as she wallowed in her own self-pity. Vaguely, she felt Tatsuki wrap her arms around her and ask her if she would be alright. She couldn't bring herself to respond, too disappointed in herself to utter any words. She was so caught up in her own frustration that she didn't hear the sound of a charged bala, and barely registered the sound of glass exploding. If it wasn't for Grimmjow grabbing her and Tatsuki out of the way she was sure they would've gotten a set of nasty scars from the flying debris that had resulted from the blast.
"Onna" an all too familiar voice said amidst the mass of dust, glass and rubble.
"Your wailing displeases me"
A/N: Until next time.
